Fox contines to hit ratings homer

World Series tops night yet again

Fox won out over its broadcast rivals on the first Monday of November behind the fifth game of the World Series, which was down from Monday’s high but still packed a punch. CBS was the top entertainment network, anchored by its middle-hour comedies.

According to preliminary Nielsen nationals adjusted for time zone differences, the Fall Classic averaged a 5.3 rating/14 share in adults 18-49 and 17.1 million viewers overall, making it the top broadcast program of the night in both categories. Though down from Sunday’s series-high averages (7.8/20 in 18-49, 22.8 million viewers overall), Monday’s Game 5 was up about 30% over last year’s Game 5, which was the final game of the series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays.

Monday’s Game 5 victory by the Phillies over the New York Yankees means that a sixth game will be played Wednesday night on Fox. The Yankees lead the best-of-seven series three games to two.

ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” contest between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons was expected to challenge baseball for supremacy in some demo categories, but its numbers won’t be available until this afternoon.

Among entertainment programs Monday, CBS led the pack in demos behind “Two and a Half Men” (4.4/11 in 18-49, 13.6 million viewers overall) and “The Big Bang Theory” (4.6/11 in 18-49, 12.7 million viewers overall), and it again dominated its broadcast rivals at 10 p.m. with “CSI: Miami” (3.7/10 in 18-49, 12.5 million viewers overall). Also for the net, “How I Met Your Mother” remained potent leading off the night (3.5/9 in 18-49, 9.1 million viewers overall), and rookie “Accidentally on Purpose” held onto most of its lead-in at 8:30 p.m. (3.2/8 in 18-49, 8.5 million viewers overall).

ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” (3.3/8 in 18-49, 16.2 million viewers overall) hit a season low, placing third among the broadcasters in 18-49 from 8 to 10 p.m. but leading its time period in total viewers. And “Castle” (2.4/6 in 18-49, 9.7 million viewers overall) was down a bit week to week at 10 p.m., but still soundly beat NBC’s “The Jay Leno Show” (1.3/3 in 18-49, 4.3 million viewers overall).

NBC fared better from 8 to 10 p.m., as “Heroes” (2.6/7 in 18-49, 6.2 million viewers overall) and “Trauma” (2.1/5 in 18-49, 6.2 million viewers overall) both drew their best scores since September.

One week after hitting some of their best scores in a while, CW’s combo of “One Tree Hill” (1.1/3 in 18-49, 2.4 million viewers overall) and “Gossip Girl” (1.0/2 in 18-49, 1.9 million viewers overall) were on the decline.